joe haggerty

Youkilis Rises To the Occasion Once Again

Had Kevin Youkilis not lived through last fall and cobbled together a career’s worth of postseason experience, things might have been a little different in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series Friday night -- and definitely not for the better.

Youkilis put together a very pedestrian .250 during an opening-round sweep of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in last season’s American League Division Series, but the bearded first baseman resuscitated his batting average in a hurry during the ensuing seven-game series against the Indians.

When the chalk dust had settled and their 2007 World Series berth was locked up, Youkilis hit a ridiculous .500 clip with 10 runs scored, three home runs and 7 RBI in seven games against the Tribe.

Youkilis went 2 for 4 and scored three runs in a Game 1 of that series, and answered any lingering whispers about the first baseman’s seeming inability to come bounding out of the offensive gate.

“Last year was the same way,” said Youkilis. “I didn’t have that unbelievable of a first round. I felt like I hit the ball all right in Anaheim.

“I didn’t feel like I was doing that badly, but I felt like I could do a lot better,” added Youkilis.

Those queries were again swirling after Youkilis hit a virtually powerless .222 in a four-game ALDS against the Angels. The need for the burly first baseman to produce was even greater after he created middle-of-the-order expectations with career highs in home runs, RBI, doubles and triples this season. To make matters worse David Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia –- the virtual lifeblood of the Sox offense along with Youkilis -- were all struggling at the same time.

“He had a great season and he’s a good hitter, man,” said David Ortiz. “Of course, something had to happen.”

It was debatable whether it was going to happen Friday night, however, with Papi’s “great hitter” staring down the barrel of a matchup against Tampa Bay righty James Shields.

Shields owned Youkilis after keeping the right-hander slugger hitless in his first 17 career at bats heading into last night.

Adjustments needed to be made, and the commanding voice in Youk’s hitting head was warning him to lay off Shields’ bread-and-butter pitch: the floating, tantalizing change-up that can tie an antsy hitter up into knots.

“You can’t put that stuff in your head,” said Youkilis, who enjoyed post-game press conference honors in the bowels of Tropicana Field following his part in Boston’s victory. “You’ve just got to go out there with the numbers that you’re due.

“I just told myself to go out there, try to lay off the changeup as much as possible and just see the ball,” added Youkilis.

Aside from the self-discipline inherent in Youkilis that allows him to lay off a pitcher’s pitch, fortunes also seem to change for the 29-year-old when the baseball calendar turns to ALCS time.

Once again, when the bell run in a seven-game series that can cinch Boston’s place in the World Series, Youkilis came out firing and looped a ground rule double to right field in his initial look at Shields in the top of the first inning.

Youk followed the two-base hit up with a solid single to left-center field in the top of the fourth inning, and any hex that Shields held over the Gold Glove first baseman was H-I-S-T-O-R-Y.

The scrappy first baseman put together a typical Youkilis at bat in the eighth that supplied the Sox with a vital insurance run. Youk fouled off a pair of J.P. Howell offerings as the veteran left-hander attempted to go inside/outside against him with his 88 mph fastball.

Instead, Youkilis simply never deserted his approach and didn’t force anything despite his earlier struggles. The postseason veteran simply rifled a curveball into left field that handcuffed the normally-solid Carl Crawford. Pedroia scored from second on the play and Youkilis had officially turned the corner with three hits, two doubles and an RBI in a tight 2-0 win.

“It was a good thing tonight to go up there and get comfortable,” said Youkilis. “Every series is big, but this series is really big to go into the World Series.”

The night was big and it was most certainly vintage Youkilis.

A double to right field on a 92 mph fastball on the outside corner of the plate, a line single on a flat curveball in the fourth and another curveball hammered to left for an RBI double in the eight. Hits sprayed all over the baseball field without every trying to do more than is possible with the pitches – the sure sign of a player that’s about to set off on another ALCS hitting spree.

“Youk’s always been a good hitter; that’s the thing,” said Sox catcher Jason Varitek. “He added a tremendous amount of power to his game this year with the 29 home runs and that kind of took him to another level.

“But it’s also a case of he is who he is, and tonight was a perfect example of that,” added Varitek. “He put the bat on a lot of different pitches for us tonight.”

Greg and Chris talk with Mike Reiss from ESPN Boston in hour 2 of NFL Sunday to discuss a variety of offseason happenings with the Pats and throughout the league. Greg and Chris also get into the NFL Draft and where Mariota and Winston will go.

Mike Reiss calls the guys to talk about the offseason news for the Pats. He talks about the Pats/Jets tampoering fiasco, free agency, where he sees Ridley and Connolly ending up, if the Patriots would be interested in Reggie Wayne and more.

In the first hour of the show, Greg and Chris discuss the news coming out of the owners' meetings this week and rule changes. Belichick's blow-up over the league not wanting to spend on endzone cameras was well documented and the guys react. They also talk about the Jets ridiculous tampering charges, free agents still lingering out there, where Stevan Ridley will land and the RB position in New England. Dickerson and Price briefly discuss the adventures of Tom Brady before being joined by WEEI.com's Mike Petraglia to talk all things Pats in the offseason.

Flannery joins Mut to break down the Isaiah Thomas trade to Boston and what it means for the Celtics this season and in the future. Paul also chats with Mut about the other deals that happened at the NBA's trading deadline

Mut, Tomase, and Bradford kick things off talking about Shane Victorino taking offense to people reading into some comments he made about trading for Cole Hamels. They also discuss Blake Swihart and how soon he could be up if Christian Vazquez starts the season on the DL.

Joe Kelly joined the Hot Stove show where he talked about being ready for his next spring training start after a biceps ailment forced him out of his last outing, he talks about his NCAA brackets and how teammate Wade Miley has a perfect bracket still.

Peter Chiarelli joined the Sunday Skate crew to talk about the Bruins playoff push heading into the final handful of games of the regular season. Chiarelli talked about avoiding some of the overly negative feedback he gets while realizing that the team does have real issues. He discusses what went down at the trade deadline and if he was happy with the outcome, Lucic having a down year and underperforming, the salary cap and if he considers it as big of an issue as it's been made out to be and what the future holds for the team.

It's a big hour #2 for the Sunday Skate dudes - they talk about the B's defenseman and what the future looks like at that position, with both moves the team can make and younger guys in the AHL. They also get into the Bruins philosophy on bringing guys up and sending them back down and how players deal with that. Finally, the boys are joined by Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli to discuss EVERYTHING.

The Sunday Skate crew gets the show going discussing the Bruins big, impressive victory over the NY Rangers yesterday. What can you take from that game? According to LB - Lyndon Byers - who called the guys from the road, not a lot. LB drops a dime on what was going on with the Rangers yesterday. DJ and Joe discuss Claude's lines and groupings and the importance of Ryan Spooner. They also get into Lucic, his contributions this year and if he can turn things around.

With the Wells report seemingly wrapping up (we hope), Tim and Lou got to talking about possible fines and punishments the Patriots must face. It's possible that the Patriots will face a small fine, but should they take that laying down? The conversation brings out a little passion from BOTH sides.